The Long Shadow of 9/11: America's Response to Terrorism

"This book provides an array of answers to the question, In the ten years since the 9/11 attacks, how has America responded? In a series of essays, RAND authors lend a farsighted perspective to the national dialogue on 9/11's legacy; assess the military, political, fiscal, social, cultural, psychological, and moral implications of U.S. policymaking since 9/11; and, suggest options for effectively dealing with the terrorist threat in the future. In a series of essays, this book addresses the question of how America has responded in the ten years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks and suggests options for more effectively dealing with the terrorist threat in the future. The attacks on 9/11 set in motion a great array of changes in America. These essays capture this upheaval, but better still they do something RAND is so well positioned to do: They provide expert assessments of where our responses are strong, where they have fallen short, and how we need to change yet more". (Honorable Richard J. Danzig, former U.S. Secretary of the Navy and chairman of the Center for a New American Security). "This book helpfully outlines the central reality that America is engaged in what has already been, and promises to continue being, a long war. It emphasizes that despite the killing of Osama Bin Laden and the advent of the, OEArab Spring America will continue to need an effective counterterrorist strategy. The papers also provide a good outline of the progress America has made in a number of vital areas, particularly intelligence and military capabilities, in the past decade". (Ambassador L. Paul Bremer III, chairman of the National Commission on Terrorism and head of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq in 2003 and 2004). "This book will make a significant contribution to our understanding of the past ten years and inform decisions about where we should go from here. It's a much-needed call to mark this anniversary by reassessing those things we now accept as common wisdom. The perspectives and insights in these essays are inadequately reflected in the current discussion and debate". (Suzanne E. Spaulding, executive director of both the National Commission on Terrorism and the Commission to Assess the Organization of the Federal Government to Combat the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction).